Friday, February 27, 2009

Learn French. Pick up a paintbrush. Read a new author. See a play in Boston. Sharpen your professional skills.

The course sampling for Keep Learning: May Term @ Gordon College is rich and open to all students, alumni, seniors and neighbors throughout the North Shore. Beginning May 18 through June 14, May Term's condensed classes are uniquely designed to work around adult learners’ schedules and lifestyles. Classes are available for elective credits to traditional students, but nontraditional students interested in expanding their knowledge or trying something new can also enroll in the courses for personal enrichment. Read the press release... View more information about May Term...

Senior David Flight has recently been named the men’s basketball program’s all-time leader in wins at Gordon College. “No player has ever won more games wearing a Gordon College men’s basketball uniform than David Flight,” Coach Schauer said. “Currently we are 77-28 in David’s time here. No player has ever been more successful in this program than David Flight.”Read more...

“God gave me two legs, so running is a way I get to show my gratitude by using those gifts,” said freshman Marty Maloney, who, along with junior Emily Bauder, recently qualified for the NCAA Division III New England Championships at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Maloney was the first Gordon male ever to qualify for the Indoor New Englands; it was also his first time running indoor track. “I am from Minnesota, and we do not have indoor track so this was my first year, but I was very pleased to have qualified.”

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Todd Szymczak ’97, the current pastor of high school ministries at Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts, talks about what he’s been up to since he graduated:
“I have been in youth ministry since graduation. My first church was small, and I did most of the ministry myself. But as the ministry grew, I began to develop a team. At my second church the ministry was larger. While I still did a lot of the ministry myself, I had to rely more heavily on leaders to walk with students. Here at Grace Chapel, I have had to rely completely on a team approach to be effective with students since this is a very large church. Each role has been a learning process that has led me to this position.” Read more.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Organizers of the second annual Salem Film Festival are giving local residents an opportunity to see the world—through film. Of the 22 documentary films chosen for the festival that runs from February 26 through March 5 at Cinema Salem (1 Church Street), all include stories from across the globe, including Chile, Australia, the Amazon, China and more.One in particular, though, is focused a little closer to home. Sponsored by Gordon College and the Gordon College Institute for Public History, Brick by Brick: A Civil Rights Storyis a 60-minute film that follows three families through Yonkers, New York, as they confront the politics and laws of racial discrimination in housing and schools. Read more...View Salem Film Festival website.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Why read the Christmas story in February? Luke 2:1-7 and Matthew 1:18-25 were today’s Scripture passages, and Dr. Stan Gaede, Gordon’s scholar in residence, began his address by remembering his Christmas a few years ago. His family had experienced a difficult time, as his wife had a serious surgery during the holiday season. “This was the first time I got a glimpse of the first Christmas through Joseph’s perspective,” Gaede said. In retrospect, Joseph was betrothed to Mary, and when he found out that she was pregnant, “his world was undone.” Gaede saw Joseph’s life as an example to “swallow pride and serve without knowing details.” Through the difficult time for his family, Gaede now follows Joseph’s example and seeks to let go and let God. “There is no greater joy,” Gaede said. Listen to the full address on iTunes.

What was the cultural setting in which Jesus and his apostles learned the Jewish teachings and scriptures? Dr. David M. Gordis, President Emeritus of Hebrew College, founding Director of the National Center on Jewish Policy Studies and founder of the Interreligious Center on public Life, spoke on this subject during Convocation on Feb. 13. Studying the context of Jesus’ time allows us to see “the humanity of Jesus, his community, and culture,” said Gordis. Gordis focused on answering three questions: What was the informing climate in Palestine? What was the content being studied? And what was the mode of study? Listen to Rabbi Gordis’ full address on iTunes

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

During a recent Boston Celtics game, Yegue Badigue was honored as a “Hero among Us.” At each home game, the Celtics and their fans have saluted the exemplary efforts of these citizens during a special in-game presentation on the legendary parquet floor.Yegue is a Perkins School for the Blind alumnus and a current Gordon College student. At Gordon he is an international relations major and music minor, speaks six languages and plays four instruments.“I was open-minded, am still, and will be open-minded, to discover what are my next undreamable surprises!” Yegue says. “I hope to join the team of making a difference, being productive, and bringing economic empowerment to the left behind.” Read more...

There was a good turnout on Friday, February 13 for Gordon’s “Lincoln and Liberty, Too” event. Salem’s Old Town Hall in Derby Square was transformed into a time vault where guests were able to read about the history of Salem during the 1860s, look at one of Abraham Lincoln’s handwritten letters, view the newly discovered1864 handpainted banner Lincoln used for his presidential campaign and even hear Lincoln himself.Among the crowd were city councilors, judges, homeschoolers and Salem community members, along with many from the Gordon community, including President Jud Carlberg, Provost Mark Sargent, and many faculty and Staff. The Channel 7 News crew covered the event.For the evening portion of the event, Lincoln was escorted into the Town Hall by soldiers (men dressed in the civil war uniforms) and joined the crowd in a lively group ballroom dance session.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Dr. Timothy Johnson, medical editor at ABC News, has been seen on 20/20, Good Morning America, Nightline, and, recently, at Gordon College. “One third of what we [Americans] spend on health care is unwise and unproductive,” Johnson said. “America spends $2.6 trillion on health care, and there are still 100,000 people dying due to medical errors.” Johnson proposes improving primary care, providing comparative data, and more. Listen to Johnson’s talk “Health Care Reform” on iTunes....

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine’s Day from the Office of College Communications at Gordon. Have some (virtual) homemade chocolate cake. This recipe has an unusual ingredient: beets. (recipe here). The cake box was painted by alum Robert Hanlon ’77, and inspired by Wayne Thiebaud’s delicious cake paintings.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Public intellectual and acclaimed author Dinesh D’Souza spoke at Convocation February 6 on "Islam, Christianity, and the War on Terror." D’Souza, former Reagan White House public policy analyst, shared his thoughts on how our popular culture is wrongly perceived in other countries and we need to “show them the other America . . . hard working, family values, and church on Sunday.” Listen to D’Souza’s full address on iTunes.

Nathaniel Hawthorne—never a Lincoln man—told how a surveyor stumbled onto an old scarlet cloth at Salem’s Custom House. You may know the story that Hawthorne dreamed up from there.I thought about that embroidered letter after two colleagues—Cliff Hersey and David Goss—made their own discovery at the Second Church [pictured, left] on Dorchester’s Codman Square. Built in 1806, the old Congregational church, with its Paul Revere bell, now houses a Nazarene congregation.

Read more of Gordon Provost Mark Sargent’s article in the Salem News...

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Last month, 13 Broadway shows — including hits like Hairspray, Young Frankenstein, Spamalot, Gypsy, Spring Awakening and All My Sons — turned off their lights and closed their doors.They’re not alone: Major theater companies across the U.S. are shutting down or drastically reducing the number of shows they produce. In our area, the 50-plus year old North Shore Music Theatre says it needs nearly half a million dollars by the end of January and an additional 4 million by April to stay in operation.Read more of theatre professor Jeff Miller's FAITH + IDEAS essay...

Monday, February 9, 2009

"If you have a Bible lyin' around somewhere that you've read or don't read because you already have, like, ten, the Wales Mission Team hopes that you'd consider donating it to kids who might otherwise never pick one up. So if you have some extra Bibles, please email me: blaire.telford@gordon.edu. We're mostly looking for small Bibles; even just New Testaments would be fine (we would like to maintain the weight limit for baggage)."

Friday, February 6, 2009

“Why do you care about Black History Month?” Senior Jason Webster asked fellow students during Monday’s chapel. Webster described his own history as the son of a Jewish mother and Jamaican father, and his appreciation of America today. “We all stand on the shoulders of history,” he said. Jessica Burnett ’12 and John Francis ’09 also spoke. “We don’t live in just a white and black world,” Francis said. “We should always press towards goals of equality and unity.”

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

“I’ve always wanted to write a memoir of my life,” said Laurie Truschel, director of student ministries, during chapel on Wednesday. Truschel says the unofficial title of her memoir would be My Life in a Palindrome. Palindrome seemed to describe Truschel's life in more ways than one. Living in Apollo, PA she literally lived in a palindrome. Truschel's life also seemed as though things were the same forwards and backwards. In other words, she was living through the motions. “I had a perfect life,” Truschel said. “But my heart was rotting.” Living with a heart of self-righteousness was something Truschel struggled with for the majority of her life. She remembers the way God taught her a lesson of grace through her own daughter. This humbling experience helped Truschel realize that God does not love according to merit. “He loves me because he loves me, because he loves me, because he loves me,” Truschel said. Listen to Truschel’s message on itunes.One of her favorite quotes from Jack Miller, the founding pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church in the Philadelphia area, is “Cheer up. You are worse off than you think you are. But cheer up, God’s grace is a lot bigger than you think it is.” Christ takes our burdens willingly, then we forget that we’re free. “We then take up more burdens,” Truschel said. “Ones that are our merits and good deeds.” Truschel concluded by recommending two books on God’s grace; From Fear to Freedom by Rosemarie Miller, wife of Jack Miller, and The Prodigal God by Tim Keller. “As we grow in Christ,” Truschel said, “the cross is bigger, and we grow smaller.”

Monday, February 2, 2009

Many were inspired and encouraged after Friday’s convocation speaker Reverend Herman Hamilton shared his Dream On campaign of helping people to know Christ, and “to have the support and services to reach their God-given potential.” As the senior pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church USA (RPC) in Boston, Massachusetts, since 1994, Rev. Hamilton has strived to transform “the power of the Christian faith into a tool for social transformation through educational, technological and counseling programs” to strengthen families. “It’s time to dream again and then do something,” Rev. Hamilton said. Listen to Reverend Hamilton’s address on itunes.The impact Martin Luther King’s “I had a dream” speech had on his life was evident as Rev. Hamilton described his difficult childhood and lack of motivation growing up. Suffering from a vicious rash on his head that led to a year in the hospital, being disowned by his parents, moving in with his great aunt and uncle in Louisiana—all contributed to the struggles Rev. Hamilton overcame. Throughout these trials Rev. Hamilton remembered Dr. King’s speech, and it encouraged him to concentrate on three specific goals. “I wanted to be on the stage to graduate, go to college, and to make sure my aunt and uncle knew the time they spent on me was not a waste.” Much by the grace of God, Rev. Hamilton not only graduated with his class but with honors, went to college, and made his aunt proud. Martin Luther King’s life encouraged Rev. Hamilton to continue to be persistent in all areas. Rev. Hamilton’s commitment to sharing his story feeds into the four points he concluded with during convocation. “Don’t let anybody put you in a box. You got to have faith, have to have courage, and ask questions.” Acts 1:8 says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Rev. Hamilton used this verse to express the power of the Holy Spirit, Who will “give you the explosive capacities to do something. So dream again. God is calling you; it’s time for you to dream again.”